Europa League Play-off Round Preview

The Play-off round of UEFA Europa League qualifiers are set to take place on 17 August and the return legs will be played on 24 August.

Maritimo (Portugal) v Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)

Iranian keeper Amir Abedzadeh has yet to appear for Maritimo but it would be great to see him take the field against one of the most famous Ukrainian football clubs. Maritimo will surely be heavy underdogs against Dynamo Kyiv but perhaps the Portuguese club can give them a run for their money.

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) v Skenderbeu Korce (Albania)

This match is hardly worth covering but it could have been exciting if Iranian midfielder Ali Karimi was playing for Zagreb and if Iranian striker Reza Karimi was getting quality minutes for Skenderbeu Korce. It appears as though Ali Karimi is a free agent and my sources have told me that Reza Karimi is probably finished playing in Albania.

PAOK FC (Greece) v Ostersund (Sweden)

The talk coming out of Ostersund is the recent news that Iranian-Swedish midfielder Saman Ghoddos said that he is willing to accept a call-up to Team Melli, the National Team of Iran. Ghoddos has already been capped twice for Sweden but NOT at the competitive level. Good luck to Ghoddos and lets hope we see him suiting up for Team Melli!